Just a Moment Away
by Lona Beth Undorina
Summary: Two worlds just a moment away. A shipwreck, lost lives, and the aftermath. T rating just for caution. Read and enjoy!  *Re-posted under semi-new name, due to lost password.


**A.N~ **Why Little Mermaid you ask? Truthfully, I don't know. But enjoy! I made things a little different, just to add drama. :)

I don't own The Little Mermaid or anything Disney.

* * *

Ariel dragged the man up on to the beach – which was no easy task. He was a very heavy human, very muscular and tall. _Are all humans so heavy?_Ariel thought. Her mind was racing. Here she was looking straight at a human! An alive human being! But wait... Was he alive? _Oh, I hope so! _She looked around, seeing Sebastian or Scuttle were anywhere near her. She didn't know how humans could tell if they were alive or not. _I need someone! Where can I get help? _She was frantically looking for Sebastian, or even Flounder! Ariel looked at the man. He looked dead almost. She thought quickly, his life could depend on it! _Think, Ariel, think. How can the physicians tell if someone is alive or not? _She thought desperately. _Oh! I know! _She put her head onto his chest, listening. She needed to - wanted to - hear it. _**Thump, thump, thump; **_The man's heart _**was **_beating.

Ariel lifted her head. "Yes!" she cried out loud. He was alive! She had saved him! She looked at his face. He had dark hair, almost black. H_is clothes look like something the Atlantian soldiers wear, s_he observed_. Maybe he's a soldier too. _She couldn't believe it! A human! And a handsome looking one not to mention. She looked at him again. But this time, she noticed something else. _Oh no, _she thought.

He was hurt. On his arm and leg there were deep gashes and there many other cuts on his body and a massive bruise on his head.

_He didn't look that bad a minute ago! S_he thought. She was scared. She put her head back on his chest. Nothing. Ariel cried out. She just saved his life! He can't be dying again!

She started singing a Atlantian song of healing. She knew she wouldn't work, it worked only on Atlantians, but she was desperate. Tears started to stream down her cheeks, "please," she whispered in between verses. "Please don't die." She continued to sing, but he still wasn't breathing. Ariel looked at the sky, crying and singing. This man couldn't die. He just couldn't!

Still looking up at the sky, Ariel heard a movement. She looked down and saw that he had stirred. A faint moan escaped his lips. Ariel, despite her tears, smiled. He was so handsome.

Suddenly, she heard a noise. It sounded like that noise the hairy beast on the ship made... _Seaweed! _Ariel looked down the beach a saw the furry beast. Ariel knew she couldn't be seen, but she didn't want to leave the man either. _I'll come back once that thing leaves, _she told herself. She went back into the water and hid behind a rock. Looking around the rock, she saw the hairy beast standing over the man.

"Come back here dog!" she heard someone shout. Following the beast was _another _man. Older and most definitely not as handsome as the first one. "I say, come bac – oh!" He had finally caught up with the dog and saw the other man. Ariel saw him lean down towards the man. A moment later the man moved. With the older man's help, he stood. "Grimsby?" the man said, confused. "Where are we?" He tried to walk on his own but would've fallen if it weren't for Grimsby who caught him. "Do you remember the shipwreck at all, sir?"

A moment went bye until the man said, "yes, I do. But how did I get on the beach? I should be dead."

"It just wasn't your day to die, sir."

"But there was a girl," the man said, standing up, this time with Grimsby firmly holding on to him, should he fall again.

"You were probably just hallucinating sir," reasoned Grimsby. "Sir, we really should get you back to the castle. What luck that you were on the royal beach."

"But she was just here! I swear Grimsby!" The man said stubbornly. "She was beautiful and had an amazing voice."

"Prince Eric," Ariel could hear the exasperation at the man named Eric's stubbornness, "we must get to the castle immediately! It won't do the kingdom any good for you to die out here."

Eric must of agreed because what Ariel saw next was Grimsby putting his shoulder under Eric's arm and leading Eric slowly away from the beach.

"Thank the sea!" Ariel said to herself. She was extremely happy that the man, whom she found out was named Eric, was found. She started singing again. Not a healing song, but a joyous song. As she was singing, she could still see Grimsby supporting Eric. And she saw Eric's head turn around, he could hear her. He turned his head and focused on the exhausting task of walking.

One thing Ariel could not keep thinking about was something he said;

_He called me 'beautiful.'_


End file.
